Archive for July, 2014

Lama Zopa Rinpoche taking a walk in the park on his first morning in England, July 1, 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

You can watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche teach live from Leeds, UK, on FPMT’s Livestream page. Rinpoche’s teachings “Making Life Meaningful: Teachings on Stages of the Path” on July 5 and 6 will be streaming live and later available as recordings at: https://new.livestream.com/FPMT/uk/.

Details on the teaching event, organized by Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, can be found at: http://www.jamyangleeds.co.uk/news/246-making-life-meaningful/.

Coming up next, Rinpoche will teach in London July 10-13. A long life puja for Rinpoche will be offered on July 16. The London events are organized by Jamyang Buddhist Centre London, visit their webpage for more information.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an organization dedicated to preserving Mahayana Buddhism through offering the Buddha’s authentic teachings and to facilitating reflection, meditation, practice and the opportunity to actualize and directly experience the Buddha’s teachings. Sign up to receive news and updates.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Land of Joy doing prayers for the success of the new retreat center in Northumberland, UK, July 2, 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche arrived in the United Kingdom earlier this week from Italy. First off, Rinpoche visited and blessed the proposed site for Land of Joy, a retreat center being planned for England. The property, called Greenhaugh Hall, is in northern England. Before finalizing the purchase, surveys and planning permission still need to be completed. During the site visit, Rinpoche and Sangha performed prayers and a puja.

Rinpoche then travels to London, where he will give a teaching “Enlightened Courage – The Buddha’s Path of Wise Compassion” on July 10. Rinpoche will give Heruka Five Deities initiation July 11-13. And on July 16, a long life puja will be offered to Rinpoche. The London events are organized by Jamyang Buddhist Centre London.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche visiting and blessing the potential site of Land of Joy, Northumberland, UK, July 2, 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

While staying at Root Institute in Bodhgaya, India, in February 2014, Lama Zopa Rinpoche translated an explanation of the eight auspicious signs, adding brief commentary. Rinpoche’s interest arose from a “conversation when Rinpoche was questioning whether it was OK to step over the eight auspicious signs or not,” shared Ven. Sarah Thresher, who served as scribe for Rinpoche’s dictation.

“Probably many of us do not know how important these eight auspicious signs are and how they affect our lives,” Rinpoche said. “They can be used externally to help with one’s own success as well as with the FPMT organization to be successful in benefiting others and working for the [dissemination of the] teachings of the Buddha. Putting these eight auspicious signs around everywhere, outside and also inside the rooms, makes things very auspicious. It is not necessary to put all eight together, and they don’t all need to be in the same place. They can be placed separately at different locations, but you should have all of them. …”

More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.

All of the monks of Sera Je Monastery are offered three nutritious meals daily through the Sera Je Food Fund.

Every day, 8,300 meals are served to all 2,500 monks studying at Sera Je Monastery through the Sera Je Food Fund. Before each meal, all of the monks offer prayers and dedications to all of the many kind sponsors of the Sera Je Food Fund which provides an annual operating budget of US$280,000 in order to provide 3,029,500 meals every year.

This video shows the monks offering prayers, before lunch. The prayers are always dedicated for the supporters of the Sera Je Food Fund.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Sera Je Monastery Abbot are also seen enjoying the same nutritious vegetarian lunch offered to all the other monks.

You may donate any amount to this incredibly beneficial project which provides one of the most fundamental needs for life – food – and allows the monks to focus on their studies without the burden of sourcing and preparing their own meals.

April 21, 2014, was a big day for Dechen Bloom, age six. Lama Zopa Rinpoche was visiting Dechen’s hometown of Portland, Oregon, and Dechen had something special to offer Rinpoche. Leading up to Rinpoche’s visit, Dechen had been working very hard to both memorize the Heart Sutra and to write it out, dedicated to Rinpoche’s long life.

Dechen bounced with excitement as he waited for Rinpoche to arrive at FPMT International Office. When Rinpoche’s car pulled up, Dechen was out on the sidewalk with his copy of the Heart Sutra. He offered it, smiling, to Rinpoche, who was very pleased. He also recited it on video for Rinpoche the previous day.

This offering to Rinpoche had been a couple of years in the making. As Dechen grew from a toddler into a young boy, his mother, Carina Rumrill, had noticed that while Dechen was able to read, count and learn shapes and colors much more quickly than other children his age, his behavior seemed to her to be a lot more difficult. As he reached school age, she took him to be tested by the local school district to see what they thought was going on. They identified him as having ASD (autism spectrum disorder), specifically they told Carina he had Asperger syndrome and sensory processing disorder.

Ven. Robina Courtin was visiting Portland during this period and spending time with Dechen. (She has known him since his birth.) She encouraged Carina, who is the former managing editor of Mandala and now editorial support for FPMT International Office, to not label him with any disorder and to try and view his behavior in the context of Dharma teachings. …

“Regarding the existing practices you are doing, one big thing that is missing is reciting OM MANI PADME HUM – especially doing this with bodhichitta for numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless human beings, numberless suras, numberless asuras and numberless intermediate state beings; for everyone to be free from the oceans of samsaric suffering as quickly as possible and to achieve full enlightenment, peerless happiness, omniscient mind.

“Recite every single OM MANI PADME HUM for every single sentient being, doing one mala or more, your choice. Every mantra you recite is for every sentient being and for yourself to achieve enlightenment, which means to actualize the path, lam-rim, to purify all the defilements and negative karma collected since beginningless time and to collect extensive merits, the cause of dharmakaya and rupakaya. It is especially to develop compassion for all sentient beings forever, to everyone, so no one is left out; no ant is left out, not one mosquito is left out, not one sentient being is left out; to develop compassion and through compassion to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. This is so important. You don’t want to recite the mantra for your own happiness; you need to recite it for sentient beings’ temporary and ultimate happiness. …”

You can read the complete advice on the website of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

More information, photos and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s homepage. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche via email, sign up to Lama Zopa Rinpoche News.